Concerned citizens in the Mzimba Solola constituency have written to the office of the District Commissioner for the Mmbelwa District Council, requesting detailed information on how Constituency Development Fund (CDF) funds have been used in the constituency over the past few years.

In a letter signed by their leader, Geoffrey Lavedge Nyirenda, and addressed to the District Commissioner, with a copy to Jacob Hara, MP for the area, the citizens claim there is a lack of transparency and accountability in the use of CDF resources in the constituency.

Nyirenda stated that their demands for detailed information and a breakdown of fund allocation and usage in implementing CDF projects are in line with the Access to Information Law.

"We are fed up with the lack of transparency in how the Constituency Development Funds have been utilized. It's unacceptable that there is no clear accounting of how public funds are being spent. It's within our rights as citizens to demand answers. We've been taken for granted, and everyone knows that," said Nyirenda.

Nyirenda further observed that despite the government allocating CDF to the constituency for the past four years, there has been no meaningful development in their area.

However, District Commissioner Rodney Simwaka urged the concerned citizens to read the reports shared with their MPs and Councillors and to refrain from using opinions instead of evidence when asking for information. Simwaka stated that the concerned citizens could access the CDF reports from their Member of Parliament.

"The Council has structures such as the Council itself, the finance committee, and Area Development Committees. Reports generated at the Council level are shared and discussed. Anyone can access information on how funds are used. Therefore, challenges of transparency and accountability arise where information in reports we generate is not read. They must read the reports we share with the MPs and Councillors. People should refrain from using opinions; instead, they must use facts to come up with declaratory conclusions," said Simwaka.

Also weighing in on the concerns, MP Hara, who is also the Minister of Transport and Public Works, said he could not comment because he does not handle CDF.

"I don't manage CDF; it's managed by councillors," said Hara.